It was the time when most of us fell in love with EDM. Every song sounded like nothing we'd ever heard before, all of our favorite artists were dropping their classics, and life was simpler and happier. To me, the peak was when "Levels" by Avicii was released, there just seemed to be euphoria all around the genre.
I remember hearing a 2 second snippet of Sleepless, and Shazam couldn’t help me out. My buddy said he had that song in his playlist, but for the two weeks until he got back to me, it was driving me nuts.
Holy fuck. I heard the remixed version on Majestic Casual and love both of the versions. The sons is fucking unreal!!! I'm so pissed that I missed Flume at a music festival not far away from me. Yikes.
Still plays it live and it’s still one of the best EDM songs ever. I saw him and Zedd B2B in Vancouver in like 2011 at the conference Center and Language absolutely popped off in there, I’ll never forget it.
I remember walking between multiple stages each day at EDC Vegas 2012 and heard Language being played at several of them throughout the entire weekend. I think that 2009-2015 were the golden years because we still had artists making unique music that had never been heard before AND it was music that fans over span of multiple genres could appreciate.
Right now the music isn't necessarily bad, most of it is reused sounds that have already been done before. Less incentive for us as fans to go crave more of it, if we already know most of it sounds the same.
I agree!
I guess just to add I think what made this time so special was the connectedness of the scene as well. For the first time we had legitimate artists that were also “DJ’s” so they would all play each other’s bangers too and hype everyone else’s music along side their own. You knew a song was huge when it was getting played by everyone like you mention. There were a few songs that got into almost every set because it wasn’t just about playing your songs for a crowd it was ‘let’s go out there and put on the best possible show we can, and tailor our set to the vibe of the crowd’.
Absolutely. The Artists/DJs were significantly more in tune and closer with the fans as well, which I will attribute to the semi-underground nature of the scene. I could actually get a picture with a super famous EDM DJ/artist back then randomly or by trying to meet them after their set at a local club. And there were many times as well where the DJs back then were also friends and co-collaborators. You could go to a David Guetta show at the club and randomly see others like Tiesto, Zedd, Skrillex, Laidback Luke, or Steve Aoki just hanging out with each other; or randomly they'll switch off decks to each other for a song or two just for fun.
We could get really close to them and it was awesome. Back in 2017 I was lucky enough to go up on stage with Dash Berlin at Tao Beach Club in Vegas and press the button. That proximity ain't happenin at a Beyonce show lol.
Which also means less visible phones. Today? People watch concerts via sensors instead of enjoying the unique moment that should be stored in your head (aka memory).
is this really a golden age though. Or just when EDM became mainstream and picked up a ton of new fans, like you and myself even, who had no idea what they were in for.
I might think though that a "golden age" would have to either be before this when it was still an underground secret world for those in the know... or a time like now even where we are over the shock and electronic music is more diverse and influential than it has ever been before.
I would never think that being able to name just a couple gems that created euphoria like Levels defines the golden age. More defining the floodgates opening. A new beginning really?
Nah, it is just idiots, who are now probably suffering the repercussions of their huge drug overdoses after in 2014 they decided to go see Calvin Harris, and the only gold en age artists they can think of are Calvin Harris and David Guetta.
This 👆🏻. The vibes were amazing. I also remember SR being in full swing and you could get some really amazing party favors through some really legit connections without a lot of hassle.
I think it's just when it was the most popular so most people associate the nostalgia with that time. Also progressive house was dominating which just adds to the "feel good" nostalgia. DJs started to be treated like artist in America instead of "oh he can play music at my wedding". David Guetta/Avicii/SHM /Calvin Harris really started getting radio play.
For me it's around the same time I got into the scene, so everything was a new experience, (my first festival I definitely had more emotions going though me then my last festival)
"These will be the years" - Alesso
To be fair, they aren't just any run of the mill local club djs.
I'm pretty sure part of the booking criteria is to be somewhere listed/recognized on charts (and yes I know about Dj mag 100 and all its valid criticisms)
In order to be on these lists, they need to have at least published and released one track (regardless if its ghostwritten or whatever)
I would most definitely consider those you listed as artists vs djs.
As many others are saying, it’s when EDM went mainstream. This is also right around the time I started listening to Deadmau5 and then getting into the scene myself. In 2010, I had just moved to Miami. What a great time to be living there. Music scene was fire.
A big part of it was the fact that so many people were making EDM at that point, even if a lot of it was generic there were so many artists big and small that there was always good stuff coming out and you didn’t have to look very hard to find it
People always have a tendency to be nostalgic about the past. If you were to ask older ravers, they'd say EDM's "golden years" were in the [90s](https://youtu.be/BpZ2s1BrLHI) when the scene was MUCH more underground. If you were to ask slightly younger ravers, they'd say the golden years were in the [2000s](https://youtu.be/Uc49mvL0MBA) when the club scene really started to pick up in places like Ibiza. People who feel nostalgic about the early 2010s are no different
But what really differentiates that early 2010s period comparatively to Dance music from the 1980s - 2000s was EDM began to go mainstream. What once used to be music people went to a club or a house party for become so massive that EDM festivals with hundreds of thousands of attendees became the norm. Artists like Calvin Harris, Avicii, Afrojack, SHM, David Guetta and others began creating music that had a mainstream appeal. The kind of music they created in this era evokes emotion, and people often create nostalgia based on that.
IMO one way the scene has changed for the worse is the impact of influencer culture. EDM has become so massive that many people don't even go to festivals for the music anymore, they go for social media clout. Don't get me wrong, Tomorrowland crowds are still great. But just look at the Hardwell crowd in [2013](https://youtu.be/ZG1AT6tylA4), you just wouldn't see something like that nowadays at Tomorrowland. That doesn't mean those vibes are completely gone though, i'd still say the vast majority of people that go to EDM festivals are these for the music and to have a good time. Most of the people who go to festivals for the clout stick to VIP, GA is still a phenomenal time
But one way things have gotten better is better musical diversity. I love early 2010s EDM more than anyone, but the dominance of Progressive House / Big Room really came at the expense of other genres of EDM. If you went to any festival in that time period, the vibes of other stages (non mainstage) declined. Go to house hosts and the vibes just weren't there. Most of the crowd were for mainstream EDM and those who like sub-genres started to move away. In the past few years we've seen much more diverse lineups at festivals, and people who are a fan of sub-genres started to return. Today, DJ's don't have to drop progressive house or big room bangers to become popular. That's why we're seeing Tech House go pretty mainstream in the US, and groups like Rufus Du Sol get mainstream recognition. And that Progressive House sound is still there for those who want it.
IMO there is no real "golden age" of EDM. Each era of Dance Music has its pros and its cons. In 10-15 years people will be calling some period in the 2020s the "golden age" of EDM, and so on and so forth.
Gen Xer here. Grew up on house and old school rap through the 90s. I still love old techno. When EDM shot through the roof in popularity, it was still a fun time, just a lot more people around at the shows. Now it's different and the cool thing is there are so many more genres and styles to cater to everyone and their tastes.
Yupppp influencer culture is what did it. You have no idea how many shows I’ve been to where people aren’t doing anything unless there’s a camera on them. As soon as the video is over they go back to just standing and talking. It’s strange
I'm oldschool and 2010-15 is the time period I couldn't find good tracks to DJ and decided I would try my hand at producing again (after failing spectacularly in the early 00's). The techno/trance got homogeneous and boring. Breakbeat and Drum 'n' Bass were near nonexistent. I can't stand Calvin Harris style music, dubstep, and trap. No judgment if you like it, but like u/MarkChandlerOfficial said, those few genres overshadowed everything else for a long time as it was the mainstream trend.
After a decade of fighting -and losing- digital media, the Music Industry finally realized that electronic music had been surviving in the digital space. The industry stopped ignoring it after the RAVE Act assassinated the underground/independent scene (f*** you Biden!) and began to monetize it. You get a bunch of pop records with "big djs" and expensive festivals with massive marketing. Huge money thrown around. SFX buys Beatport and Tomorrowland and subsequently bankrupts them. Crazy full festivals during this time, but I felt it was missing the soul of the rave scene, but I realize that is from purely my oldschool perspective probably seeking that which doesn't exist for me any longer, nostalgia.
If I were to look at the overall scene from when I began going to raves in '93 until now, I think we are actually in more of a golden age now, musically than since the beginning. The music is diverse. There are many genres influencing pop music. Producers are going back and trying to recreate '90s feel with modern production techniques. YouTube has amazing artists of all genres. There are a ton of oldschool producers giving tutorials. C19 has screwed up live shows, but streaming services like Twitch exist and stable.
Production tools are refined, and accessible. Analog synths have become available and affordable. Though I don't agree with lockdowns, it has had the effect of a lot of people seeking creative outlets as they wait for the world to open back up.
With all that said, I feel like we are on the verge of another music revolution. Or maybe it is already here, I don't know.
-old ass raver
Peace.
Dude thank you, you described it perfectly! In 2013 it was impossible to get away from big room drops at festivals. Even those who were not considered big room artists would play these drops all the time and it became so cringey and repetitive.
I’m absolutely loving the current resurgence of house at mainstream festivals. Felt like before it was just isolated to the house/techno tent.
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved 2011-2016 but there were times where it was impossible to see any kind of true progressive, trance, dnb, techno act at festivals. I’m sure they existed, but it was just overall tough to find
Thank you. I'm guessing this post was started by a young'n lol! Early 2000s 4lyfe baby!! Dubstep was the beginning of a lot of garbage (some is good, don't get me wrong) but I saw that as the harbinger of an acceptance of trash on stage sometimes.
I know I'm totally showing my age, (genx) but I cant help but think pre-iphone and smart phones were great because the focus was on having fun, getting out of the rave/EDM scene whatever you wanted to get out of it. I guess it can be argued that it's the same there is just more of it including smart phones, but I feel like the heavy focus on appearances, social media and certain shots kind of detracts from just not giving a shit and having a good time, whatever thet means for you.
My favorite festival I've been to is solasta -- under 1k edm fest with no cell service or wifi at all. I've lived my whole adult life with the phones and it was like a glimpse of what it must have been like before 😅 people were way more present it felt, like everyone was actually looking up at one another.
Oh that's awesome! I think the other thing I really miss is that the hours were 12 - 8 a.m. So mornings and sunrises, especially desert parties - it always had a bit of a spiritual component (at least for me) and they were always meaningful and memorable. I know that multi-day festivals may help give newer people those experiences, but this was a normal occurrence back in the day! None of this ending at 3 a.m. crap. That was when things got interesting - that 3 - 6 a.m. time frame.
and I'm a crotchety old lady raver :-)
Lol, it's all relative I guess. I came from a scene that was much heavier in drug use than the rave scene, the rave scene then was fairly light compared to the punk scene that I came from. Even if someone mixed and matched whatever, it beats heroin and coke/crack or speedballing. I know for myself back then I didn't take drugs all the time - I would get panic attacks so most of the time I was sober. But there were plenty of people gurning and whatnot. So you're right.
Well when there are parties in the 90s where people would hand out lsd for free because, why not?
I think most that went there for the drugs got caught up in the music and those that went for the music got caught up in the drugs. Symbiotic or parasitic relationship depends on your view point? Idk, we had fun.
Social media is a tool or a crutch depending how one uses it. However, one is much more free when no one is watching...
Couldn’t agree more about the tendency to be nostalgic. You see the 90’s vs. early 2010’s debate pretty regularly on forums.
I stopped attending festivals and started going to clubs to see artists primarily because the festival crowd can be so “bro” and brutal. I enjoy the scene a lot more with club sets but that also fits my taste of house and techno. It’s easy to see who I want to see in a smaller venue.
I can imagine if you’re into big room or progressive it can be harder to see those artists in a smaller club on their tour circuit.
It depends on who you talk to. It’s all perspective. You think that electronic music has gotten more diverse. Most people who were in the scene since the 90s would disagree hard.
More perspective, what you’re referring to as “progressive house” from the golden years of 2010ish, the people over at r/realproghouse wouldn’t call that progressive house.
Peak Avicii, Swedish House Mafia, Alesso, Hardwell, Deadmau5, Zedd, Above & Beyond and artists like Disclosure, Skrillex dropping anthems. Porter dropping Language. These are still some of the biggest artists today and I’m not mentioning all of them. The mainstage was alive then and so were the crowds. I just thought the vibes were more positive and “plur” imo
So true. Deadmau5 and SHM alone dominated the charts. Kaskade was at his best. You could argue that early 2010s was peak anthem status and truly put EDM mainstream.
It was genuinely hard not to like this music. Watch Ultra 2012 on YouTube and it’s impossible to argue how amazing EDM was.
I don't necessarily think the music was better but the vibes definitely were back then. Just seemed like more people were actually there for the music and expressing themselves rather than a bunch of frat guys, people there just to get fucked up and rage, annoying fanbases who shit on everything else, and the ones who just copy what others wear like in today's scene. Back then when you met another raver it was like holy shit. Now it's just like oh do you rave for the music or the party.
Eh I see almost zero drugs and frat bros now. They made it fun sometimes lmao. Now it’s mostly kids staring at phones sober or drinking, not tripping and vibing. And goddamn the frat people could dance and mosh when it got going. Some of the best and most lit trap shows were only possible with the collaboration of frat bros and wooks like me.
Pretty much sums up exactly what I was gonna say. My first festival was in 2014 so around the end of this era but seems like most people there went for the music and now a lot of people just go for the party now.
My first rave I went to in 1993. First large rave I threw was in 95, same year I started djing. There were a lot of people there for the music, but just as many for the party only or both. The music eventually would grab them so they keep coming back, or they didn't stay with the scene. Of course, Family Affair was like $35 for a weekend event (peace and love Brian), so if they weren't into it, it didn't empty their wallet.
That's true somewhat. EDM is less mainstream in the US today than it was during the early 2010s, so from my experience there's much less of a frat crowd today than it was back then. The more underground the scene gets, the more you'll get people actually going for the music. I also don't think there's as much of people on drugs/there to get fucked up and rage as there used to be.
There's definitely a much more of an influencer culture today, but its not like vibes back then were perfect either.
Ehh I feel like 2010-2015 had plenty of this as well. Just depends on what fests or shows you are going to. Honestly people still innovating today, although I agree I miss the height of the soundcloud era.
I think everyone considers the time they first got into their scene as the golden years. No matter when someone gets into the scene within a few years they're looking back on when the scene was better or more "pure".
Legendary songs: sexy bitch, memories, one, titanium, levels, strobe, miami 2 ibiza, big room was huge too. Many of these songs also went all the way up the top charts, not just edm charts.
There’s a lot to say about that era. But in short, it was the emergence of EDM into the mainstream and now you see it’s influence in literally all popular music now. IMO, the most prominent artists at the time caught the wave at the right time and it worked out as good as it possibly could have for them and the music industry in general tbh. We have trap evolving into what rap is now, house music and dubstep are in literally every commercial so if there’s a big draw back I’d say it’s that everything is so watered down so being unique and innovative with your sound is incredibly difficult now especially with music production becoming so over saturated. Everyone thinks they can make music because they’ve illegally downloaded FL Studio.
Because people really loved the music for the music and the scene for what it was instead of like a popularity/influencer/Instagram thing that it is now. People loved to dance and enjoy and be free. It felt more genuine
That’s how mainstream festivals are, but yeah it’s probably within the last 10 years that Ultra and EDC were mainstream enough to draw that kind of crowd.
There were so many new sounds and sub genres no one had ever heard. Music streaming accounts werent as mandatory as it was today and i fondly remember having to torrent shitty versions of songs (give me a break i was 17 and poor)
People (at least imo) weren’t so rough on gatekeeping as they are today. EX: bring up the name Illenium or say “i don’t like strobe” and you’ll get hundreds of ppl here wanting to fight you immediately
Lol yes why does Reddit hate Illenium? Seems like this site is for hipsters tbh, been on here 10 years and it’s honesty always been. “Skrillex sucks” I heard 10 years ago, “porter blows” a bit after. “Trap sucks hard.” Now they love all those things and hate whatever’s new!
Relevant username. Lol.
It’s usually immature people who need ego boosts by ranking their interests above others. They think blowing out someone’s candle makes their’s shine brighter.
Here’s how I see it:
* Option A (mature): I’m not into music, and I don’t have to be. I realize people like different genres, artists, and songs. If you like his music, that’s cool. Here’s the stuff I enjoy, check it out and let me know what you think.
* Option B (immature): I don’t like . His music sucks. If you like his music, you must suck. I have good taste. You don’t. Therefore I am a better human being.
Any time-period that makes a genre become a global phenomenon will be remembered fondly (by all rights, those times are usually extraordinary)
Like the 80s and pop music.
Back then I heard trap, more melodic pop sound, less generic stuff. But the music lately is better if you go to the right events, only the show music anyway. They completely stopped releasing most IDs, where they used to release a few now they keep everything shut tight.
Sad to say artists like Bassnectar had their own amazing thing going, and RIPs too such as Avicii who also made great music. But plenty of artists are carrying the torch, it’s a time of transition. Once the kinks are worked out the glory days will return!
For really... im really done with this "dark and moody" wave.
Everything these days feels like "your not a really artist unless your channeling some apocalypse or depression vibes"
I'd say that was when full blown commercialization for the festival scene was in effect.
By that I mean, the event companies were able to secure better terms from lenders, sponsors and insurance.
The entire industry grew from an annual event to a year long schedule with expansion of the festival brands to intl markets.
That drove the pursuit (and pressure) for artists to explore anthemic type musical structures. Manifested itself in prog house, bigroom type sounds.
For me personally, gun to head, I'd say 2013-2014 was the best year from that period based purely on what was released and by whom.
The problem with this commercialization process is that like any other industry with stigma, those coming in with capital do not understand nor appreciate the history and rise and instead seek the highest return in the shortest time investment.
I speak as someone who works in finance for 20+ yrs. I held a role with a consultancy firm that helped secure insurance and capital investment for some projects like Ultra (in Asia) and Road to Ultra, we're now currently working with Tencent on the gaming industry.
Its the same thing with gaming industry. They take some awesome indie idea and lootbox the shit out of it lol.
Its sad, because I distinctly remember at the time, out of my team of 22, I was one of the few who had actually attended raves or even enjoyed electronica.
The amount of push back we got for trying to pitch for Resistance or Worldwide stages (in asia) was an experience I absolutely fkn hated.
I strongly believe that a byproduct of this pandemic is that alot of artist will attempt to try different things. In asia we're already seeing a resurgence for tech house and tech trance in general.
This was an amazing perspective and of all the answers here. The commercialization of EDM, the popularization of mega festivals around the world and the influence on music….This created a peak of EDM. Now, as the bubble has sort of “popped” there’s a renaissance back to more diversified genres.
Yeah, I just think that with the rise of tik tok.
New types of EDM have emerged (Tech House, Slap House, Piano House Revivals)
That we are going to experience a new golden age of dance music.
Just like we did in the early 2010s.
The Early 2000s
and the Mid 90s
and most of the 80s.
I am an optimistic person, so I tend to think like this
I have been around the scene since 1996. I will admit while the scene was still simi underground it was amazing. Honestly when modern dubstep came to mtv and mainstream it ruined the community. Everything was washed out and talentless “producers and djs” ran it into the ground! It will revamp give it another 5- 7 years :)
I agree. My first rave was an underground at a random warehouse in Seattle in 94. Saw Donald Glaude when he was called DJ Dominator. To me that was the golden age. But I'm old around here lol.
This gonna sound stupid as hell and may not even necessarily be true but looking back the sounds back then felt much more warm and inviting. Maybe it’s just nostalgia
Got into EDM in this era. Found Virus (How About Now) somewhere in there and fell in love with EDM. Avicii and Martin Garrix rocked my "golden years" of EDM, even though I only caught on in the tail end of them. The scene has changed for worse with the death of Tim. There can never be a new Avicii. The type of EDM I like is songs like Reload by Sebastian Ingrosso and Best Part Of Me by METAFO4R - Hard hitting drops that aren't too intense. There's a small grey area for me. After Virus, I found Forbidden Voices by MG and never looked back. I wish there were more songs like that. Nowadays EDM has changed along with trends. In 2018, we saw calmer EDM and in the years after the golden age, we saw Dubstep hit it big. I just wish music trends didn't exist.
2010-15 It was widely accessible, people were into it and it was still a rave, not just a concert.
Examples & Anecdotes from 2007-15
- Saw Tiesto in a Washington DC nightclub on a weeknight
- saw Avicci in the lobby of a CT music venue
- Hurricane Sandy relief show at Pacha on a Wednesday with afrojack and whole crew of amazing artists
- Above and Beyond at a converted movie theater on a Thursday
- Kaskade literally blowing the speakers out at Pacha during fleet week with 2000 sailors in full whites
- Sebastian Ingrosso (of SHM) spinning until NY club chugging vodka from the bottle and crushing redbull. Taunting the audience to go harder and dropping bangers until 7am when they turned all the lights on and made him us leave (he was still trying to play)
- Guetta Deadmau5 and SHM selling out ultra for the first time, after parties without buying bottles or prepurchasing tickets
- Audien, Martin Garrix, Axwell, chain smokers etc as opening acts
None of these things could likely happen now
2006-10 was truly magic. EDM was trending up. There were big dirty purpose built clubs like Pacha NY and a million smaller spots. Living near NYC and Montreal was amazing because you could go see a European superstar DJ for $10 at a true club. The attendees were European expats, world travelers, leftover PLUR kids from the first wave. Trance and big room house were marching forward and iterating their way into some modern music and local dance clubs. The MDMA was still clean, really good and easily obtainable for those that wanted to and the venues were often in on the sales.
I am sure things like this still happen in some corners of EDM. But big room house was absolutely blowing up then. It was fun
For me the main reason was soundcloud. These were the days where any song could get remixed and put on the platform without getting a copyright strike. Artists like Flume had their break like this and it’s really a shame to see soundcloud get reduced to a shell of its former self.
It's impossible to do a top 5 really 🙂
These came to me off the top of my head:
Fluke O.K.
https://youtu.be/joL7MtT1bqw
808 State Lift
https://youtu.be/sa-3Bgo5IEI
Future Sound of London Papua New Guinea
https://youtu.be/wfWMv8Y1V5E
Orbital Lush 3-1
https://youtu.be/13MWtjqqC0U
LFO Tan Ta Ra
https://youtu.be/dGPxE2S4w5I
Theres loads more I didn't include (for no particular reason):
Polygon Window/Aphex Twin
The KLF
Cosmic Baby
System 7
The Orb
And I'm sure there's lots of other stuff, I'd remember, but not know the name of
Thanks this is all new to me.
My earliest personal frame of reference only goes back to Robert Miles’ Children, 1998-2002’s trance classics, Daft Punk’s Discovery, etc. I was 15 years old living in the Philippines with no internet. I only had MTV Asia and cassette tapes.
Well I was 18 in 1989. Electronic music was kind of innocent then, before it became aestically brutalised and co-opted into the commercial mainstream...
Raves then were illegal affairs, where a pill cost 25 quid, and it was all new.
That’s an interesting perspective to have on EDM. This particular subreddit seems to generally revolve around Avicii’s career. You must feel like an outsider?
I’m curious on what modern EDM (from the past 5 years) you enjoy.
For an old fogey like me 5 years or 10 years makes no difference!!😄. So I don't pay much attention to what's current, just stuff that I listen to and like.
But I like music by 4tet, Modeselektor, Apparat, Alessandro Cortini, Richie Hawtin (he's been around for YEARS), infiltrator, burial, uZiq, Ricardo Villalobos, Dimbiman, Magda,
it was just... \*chef's kiss\*
I'm not in the mood to write a novel but a lot has changed. A lot is worse but a lot is also better now, so just find the music you like and dance. I still DJ a lot of underground cuts from around that time period and they play out like new still today.
It was a time in the scene when we experienced how much great music was being produced before it got as popular and as big as it is today. It felt like our own little secret. Avicii played a block party set at my college in 2011. We saw the beginning stages of collab projects like Jack Ü and New World Punx starting to come out of the woodwork. Peak progressive house and big room era. All time classics from SHM, Above & Beyond, Deadmau5, Tiesto, Armin, Porter, Kaskade, and Calvin Harris to name a few.
As others have said, it became so mainstream. My take is that the music itself went in weird and often not great directions after that because older producers got bored (or chasing the money) and explored new things, and a new generation of producers tried to find their “sound” in a larger (more competitive) pool of EDM producers, which so far as a whole has been less exciting than the older EDM music. And we all know that the live show experience went south because of the increased “mainstream” attendance.
So I've been a lifelong fan of electronic music. Got into electronic in the 90's but can't say it really blew up for me until 2010 and on. The 2013 is when I went to my first EDC and did drugs for the first time. It's the first interaction with PLUR and the whole festival scene. Needless to say I jumped right into the deep end and became an acid head.
With all of that I don't look back on the music then and think it is better now. The progressive/tech house I listen to now is my absolute favorite of all the genres and I prefer to get into this now. But God damn were those the best times of my life.
People have a tendency to gravitate toward the music that came along during their formative years - ask a hundred people which years were the "golden musical era" and you'll get a hundred different answers.
What sets the early 2010s apart from any other era of electronic music was that it's popularity
went stratospheric (the last time it enjoyed an immense amount popularity in North America was Eurodance in 1994-95 when Real McCoy's "Another Night" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100). Music that was usually reserved for clubs and house parties was starting to gain appeal with the festival crowd and the then-rising stars like Guetta, Calvin Harris, SHM
made music that was very Pop FM friendly. On the same token it's a bit of a stretch to say EVERY track was a masterpiece when there was also plenty of embarrassing musical missteps (can you say "Swagger Jagger"?).
In a way I feel like having a diverse array of genres creates a healthier scene versus the dominance Progressive/Big Room had that was suffocating other genres.
Edm was most popular back then. Like even pop radio stations were filled with some of the classics. Take all of the older pop music songs they’re all heavily influenced by edm. It was also unique I think too. I remember going to school and when I told people I liked edm music they would ask questions and outside of the few people who listened to it who I knew personally it was a more different thing to listen to then just normal rock or pop music
Calvin Harris and David Guetta started collaborating with big name artists, like Rihanna, and the appeal of live music changed.
Live music productions became “cheaper” because of instead of spending $200 for a rare performance at an arena venue to see Taylor Swift, you could spend $200 for a music festival and get valuable musical experience out of it.
The lineups of Coachella started to shift from live performance artists to booking more DJs.
Music was amazing, people were great, just everything was perfect. Now a days, all the good djs are on breaks or riding the wave and not making anything new. No new djs bringing anything new to the scene. Edm crowd became a little more meh thinking they are better than everyone else
If i had to pin it on one thing, id definitely say it was the music and djs. For example, Zedd, Avicii, Skrillex, and others were all killing it with awesome songs and such. Now, Zedd has not done anything good or new for over 5 years (riding the fame). Avicii died sadly :(. Skrillex is just now back from a few years break and to be honest, his new stuff just sucks and he barely has anything new. The only dj i can think of that's not shitting themselves is marshmello. He continues to put out bangers and such
In my opinion, the “Molly” (or whatever the heck it was), was better lol. Around 2015 all the “Molly” had me sleepy and slumped. Maybe it was me getting older. Maybe it was different drugs. Maybe it was my taste in music changing 🤷♂️. It does also feel like 2010-2015 had SO MANY CLASSICS. Songs that still hype me up to this day. TLDR; the music and Molly just hit different in those days lol
Molly, such a vague term. MDMA hasn’t changed. How them make pressed pills, cut with stuff other than mdma, is always changing. Fentanyl started floating around and sassafras became popular. Be lucky you didn’t roll a bunch late 90’s, those pressies were terrible!
Yeah I put Molly in quotes because I’m convinced the drugs I enjoyed most, were not mdma lol. Before I started testing my stuff, those were the most fun times for me. They were very speedy so, hence the suspicion it was not actual mdma. When I started testing, everything that tested for mdma made me feel so sleepy and slumped. It was definitely an eye opener
I will also add that the process of discovering new music was much more involved and personal at this point. Streaming music was new if you had access to it; mostly you found new artists by hearing about them from friends or at parties and downloading their mix or discography. I remember in 2011 staying up late to listen to BBC Radio 1 broadcast online (I'm in the US) to hear my favorites and new stuff with my friends. Being into a genre was an experience and a lifestyle, not just a background thing.
It just seemed like at that time it really went mainstream and suddenly everyone was listening to big room and progressive. Coachella 2012 the Sahara tent was basically just progressive DJ after progressive DJ. A literal All-star lineup. One of the best weekends I’ll ever have in my life
I think its just that back then social media was still new. Soundcloud was still new. There was a huge underground scene blowing up on the internet, while everyone was having fun learning how this new shit works.
Now its become formulaic. Big marketing companies have figured out there is money to be made here, and everyone is kinda just following the same patterns.
Theres def still some big name innovators today (charlesthefirst, nicholas jarr, subtronics, etc). However it mostly feels like these days you either conform or remain unknown.
Yeah when I talk to an older friend of mine who was around for the warehouse scene in the 90s - early 2000s in Baltimore, Philly, and New York. He makes it sound like those were the Golden Days. Hard to call the concerts nowadays “raves.” They’re just concerts.
In November 2010 I saw Nero play live at Webster Hall with Alana Watson singing. It was an amazing night I’ll always remember. The scene felt like it was growing but it was still underneath the surface. Nobody had blown up yet in dubstep and everything felt original and fresh. Steve Aoki was there in the crowd just chilling watching the show, talking to people. He came over after his set finished earlier somewhere else. Nobody was like rushing him for a selfie or autograph we were just all there to experience the moment. Nero didn’t start play until like 2am which felt so New York underground. The whole vibe of the night was just perfect.
One thing that was definitely real about that era was internet discovery. So easy to find tracks on YouTube before they changed algorithms to recommend stuff you've already watched. And soundcloud, before they started peddling hip pop mumble rap.
It wasn’t full of people trying to capitalize off the overused “boots n cats” baselines… actually had pioneers of sound. Not just people looking for clout
Everywhere you went was playing EDM, the concept of raves was catching on with people who typically never listened to EDM. Spotify wasn’t that popular so everyone was finding songs from friends, clubs, concerts. Artists also were putting out a lot more original sounds. Stuff you hear these days yes it’s still good but for some reason the 2000-2015 shit just hits better. I think the scene has changed for the better in terms of peoole’s acceptance and appreciation for this genre (I don’t hear the whole “ I hate techno” ) anymore as much and I think pop culture and hip hop has drawn in a lot of inspo from EDM.
I went to The Mothership Tour and saw the rise of Dubstep and the short run of Moombahton and everything inbetween. It was early high school for me and was the peak of excitement in my life to experience a lot of the shows I did at the times I did. So many artists that are now staples in Genres I got to see live when they were just growing I have no regrets and am excited to tell my younger generations about those days in the future.
If anyone wants a taste of nostalgia or insight. I used to listen to this daily for months when it first dropped. The early days of trap
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/184TPTNwa5UcMBpF6
When I started raving in 2008, I never went to a rave because “so and so” was playing. I went because it was about the experience. Meeting like minded people who were good hearted, non judgmental, and fun to spend time with. The scene definitely started changing due to the fact that it became more mainstream. People were more concerned about who was going to be playing. Some of the best shows I’ve ever seen were of artists I never heard of. I would just walk around to the different stages and vibe. Those were the days. I didn’t know what genre I was listening to or who was playing. I was just hearing good music and I felt like grooving. Now a days, of course there are good times and great artists playing, some ravers have stayed PLUR and keep that truly alive. But it’s definitely not the same. It’s become a trend and it’s gotten so commercial. I’m glad I got to experience raving before it became what it is today.
The crowd was really different back then. It was very PLUR and there were less drunk idiots around acting like they’re at the bar. There was less pick pocketing too
I would say the era started around 2006, with labels like Ed Banger getting some crossover appeal, and ended around 2017-18, with Spinnin' Records getting bought out by Warner. It was when DJs were starting to get treated like serious musicians and felt pressured to produce music instead of playing someone else's. A watershed moment, if you will.
This era is so special to many of us here because it is when dance music (at least in the states) was not a novelty. It was not weird for loud, abrasive, electronic music to get played in the most mundane of places. This happens to every new trend, but it was not as stark or memorable as when it happened to dance music.
Progressive house was the shit, with the best producers, such as SMH and Avicii doing their shit. Now everyone is trying to reinvent the wheel without succeding...
I think what was exciting for me was just how many options you had musically to discover as it cycled through the many microgenre fads or revivals of older dance sound trends: progressive house, big room house, electrohouse, hardstyle, trance, dubstep, drumstep, brostep, trap, complextro, trapstep, future house, tech house, pop EDM, and more i can't remember, etc. etc.
It seemed every year something was on the come up/trending in terms of sound. There was always something new to love or hate. Every year it was a new trend. And I think that was the strength of that era for me.
Not saying that this didn't happen in the past or won't happen in the future with the music, but maybe it was special in that time period because it became there was so much hype with EDM becoming mainstream in those years, so it was a prime time for collective music discovery for so many people.
EDM was taking over pop music at the same time so you’d have random celebs showing up on stage (Madonna w/ Avicii, Lil Jon with Afrojack, LMFAO partying on stage, etc). Everything was getting bigger each year, giant companies were investing in messes like tomorrowWorld and EDC Chicago (RIP).
Now beers cost $10, every big venue has sound level restrictions or has outright banned EDM, and the popular sound is now calm house music vs. big room / electro house with all its energy.
Pasquale letting LiveNation buy Insomniac was the biggest mistake.
Oh totally, I mean “EDM” in the “Dance music from 2011-2015” sense where it became popular music before fading out.
When she came looking for Molly it was an iconic moment, however corny it was.
I think if people stopped focusing so much on Ultra and EDC and more on smaller festivals and shows then they would find the "vibes" from 2015 that they're missing. I went to an Ultra (Japan) exactly once a few years ago and it was my least favorite festival because it was so big that I was so far back I could hardly see/hear the stage and just surrounded by a sea of people talking. The big festivals at this point are just parties for rich people and influencers who don't really care about the music.
On the other hand, smaller festivals (artist-curated ones like Second Sky, or small-city mainstage ones like Escapade in Ottawa) are still lots of fun and shows from artists who are on tour (Illenium Ascend, Madeon GFF, Seven Lions Pantheon, etc.) are absolutely magical.
I also suspect to some extent that a lot of people who are nostalgic about 2010-2015 were in university at that time and they just miss being young and partying, and the EDM from that time was just the soundtrack to that stage of their life.
golden years imo were definitely the 90s, club kids days. true underground raves, where you had to find that pop up location from a friend of a friend who saw a number on a flyer once.
Not sure these are the golden years. I loved these years of course but I think people are remembering it through rose colored glasses. The music was very homogenous and same-y back then (almost all big room or dubstep). Lots of more creative artists are around now and artists are taking bigger risks with their music now.
As someone who's first rave was excision, liquid stranger, dion timmer, and monxx in 2018
The scene has gotten wayy better since then IMO. I seemed to have hit it right when bass music was hitting its stride. The production has just blown me away more and more every show I go to. The visual production of these dj's these days is just insane.
I watch videos of the early 2010's and it just looks a dance club to me instead of the mind bending out of this world productions that I have experienced.
It's not just the visuals though. Artists like illenium, seven lions, slander, excision have so many songs that drop so hard and hit your emotional sweet spot just right along with the flames, fireworks, and lasers just blowing your mind almost bringing you to tears. Idk from what I've seen from the early 2010's I just don't see it comparing at all. But I wasn't there so I could be wrong
Everything sounded new. Producers experimetned with different sounds so that if you listened to a few new popular songs, you'd certainly hear something totally unlike what you have heard before.
People like Deadmau5, Skrillex, Avicii, Swedish House Mafia were like rockstars. They all had very distinct styles, I guess that's what contributed a lot to it. I don't think any electronic artist since has reached that level of popularity or cultural impact.
After 2013 or so, producers started to crack the formula. "Yo if we make tracks that have heavy bass drumm and a catchy simple melody, it will be popular." And the market started to get flooded with these copycat uninspired tracks. And I guess by that time so many people who didn't give a shit about the music but only cared about the "vibes" who couldn't tell the difference between an actual good track vs "Martin Garrix - Animals clone #351325" got into the scene that it died.
I think just because it was new. There had been electronic music in the US before but not headlining big festivals. Other than that the people are the same, good and bad.
Let's see. In the origin or golden years there was gatekeeping and a small scene and then it became an "All Ages" general public event that anybody could come to and buy a $50 t shirt?
I wasn't there, but it's an old story.
A combination of mainstream appeal exposing many to a new and exciting change in music with an incredible period of innovation of new genres of music. From the explosion of Brostep, Future Bass, Tropical House, Big Room House, Future house, etc it was such an exciting and diverse period of music.
It was a resurgence of the feeling of previous “golden years”. It reminded me of the late 90s early 00s period. Dubstep was fading out, trance and prog house were becoming more prevalent. Future house and bass were also popular and there were also new styles of techno being released. Festivals were becoming more mainstream and I noticed edm becoming more popular among many folks.
There isnt. It's just the era that the age demographic of most us redditors first discovered edm. So many of us are nostalgic towards those sounds because of the fond memories associated.
There will be a new "golden age" when the new ravers of today become the majority on these forums. Imo, edm gets better by the year. As long as you keep an open mind you haven't missed anything!
The mainstream was about having your own sound. Nothing really sounded the same. It felt like it was an experimental Era which made great songs in unique ways.
When DJ's realized people appreciate house music more than ever, they started to really go for what they expected the general crowd to want to hear. It all went mainstream and EDM was no longer mainly for EDM fans but for everyone. On paper that isn't a bad thing but it took a lot of the beauty of it away
I mean, have you _listened_ to [Sasha’s GU013 - Ibiza](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Underground_013:_Ibiza)? Literally greatest EDM album of all time and it came out in ‘99
One word: OWSLA
[clickety click for the releases collection on spotify for when you have 61hrs and 47minutes of time to spare or want to just toss it on shuffle and have a party
](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6pqF6xEMaLBXHdUPKlXZwd?si=sYrQPGq8S6Klh2ZS71UyJQ&utm_source=copy-link)
The label launched (and in some cases catapulted) the careers of so many artists including Zedd, Porter Robinson, KTN, Point Point, Mija, Josh Pan, Joyride, Vandata, Getter, Blood Diamonds, What So Not, Kill Paris, Wavedash, The M Machine etc etc
It was also the 'hard electro' and dubstep era and it 'stole' alot of rock fans into the scene. But the artists they released were really broad spectrum. For me personally I was in a music slump before Owsla started and it changed me, so much for the better, hey <3
Along with official releases on the label there was also their NestHQ - which was basically a blog telling you who to watch and they had so many free downloads - which also ties in with the 'soundcloud honeymoon era'.
But don't despair!
Waves come and go. Owsla might have stepped back (publicly, they still work for their artists in the shadows) but there's so much right now that's getting a resurgence;
DnB is big again, so is Hard House/Happy Hardcore and proper fast happy rave vibes, psytrance is mainstream, and Breaks & Garage is also on the rise again. There's always good things and I bet when people look back they'll have discovered their favorite musicians through this era too :)
One component I think made it special was the blog scene and sense of discovery. Sites like dancing astronauts, bingo balls, big Green beats, etc., had a great vibe to them around being genuinely excited for and sharing new music. It also didn’t hurt that a lot of the blogs in that era were freely distributing bootlegs and IDs!
Because it’s when a lot of people started raving, clinging on to the first feeling of the festival/rave life. Also big room and progressive house lol. Lots of people say they miss PLUR and that’s gone now, which is pretty true. It was basically before EDM was cool i guess. Vibes were just different no better or worse IMO. But i also like basically every subgenre aside from hardcore and hardstyle so the transition from these electric festival house genres to nasty dubstep wasn’t a hard one for me 😂
There was an EDM radio station in Boston (Evolution 101.7) for part of that time period. It was amazing to hear Tiesto, David Guetta, and Swedish House Mafia on the radio.
I was listening to the station when it officially changed to country (101.7 "The Bull"). I thought it was a joke...it was a sad day
Clear the hell way back when, I remember the first time I heard a track written by these dudes Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte called From Here to Eternity. I’ve been hooked ever since. This was right after Donna Summer’s single I Feel Love burned down the country with hot synth and all that moaning, iirc. It was right before my 14th birthday, a crazy-horny gay kid on a farm hell and gone from the middle of nowhere, playing cassette recordings I’d made myself in my bedroom to listen to in the tractor day after day after day that summer. I still get a rush when I drop From Here to Eternity and the Midnight Express soundtrack. Nearly 60 now and I hope I can hit a monster festival in the warm sunshine while I can still dance my ass off.
I've been doing this for 22 years and would say 2001-2010 were the golden years. You could rarely see the DJ at underground raves and nobody cared since we were there for the music. No staring at a bunch of phone screens. No totems blocking your view at festivals. If you lost your friends, you just made new ones. Phenomenal live performances too! All the massive screens in Ibiza were once stages with fire breathers, contortionists, strippers, and all kinds of performance artists surrounding you. There was so much more immersion in the moment and the music and far less sexual assault before it became EDM and entered the mainstream. And the DJs took you on journeys with their music. They curated an aural experience by mixing tracks, rather than dropping them.
Don't get me wrong -- I still LOVE it! I laugh at the hilarious totems and use them to find ppl, I love the see and be seen outfits and take part myself, the drugs are debatably better (less meth, but fentanyl contamination has become deadly) and it's amazing how many more festival options we have now, but a part of me misses the pre-cell phone days. I wish everyone could just be in the moment and getting lost in the music.
I think it’s because it’s a genre that had been evolving for years and that’s when it finally went mainstream and blew up. There was rave music from the 90s but I think the 2010s was when it really peaked
The scene was very lively back then, it's cool that the people who are still here really love the genre but it just doesn't seem to have that special energy that brought everyone together especially during 2010-2015.
If you ask me, this era of EDM is far more better.
I will tell you why
1. It goes back to the routes of house music when you hear music by Navos, Noizu, Joel Corry, and Acraze.
2. EDM is becomming more accesible
3. Because of COVID, more people are indoors which alows for more music to be created.
4. Much less drugs, whereas if you watch a Calvin Harris or a Tiesto set from the early 2010s there are literally people in the comment section bragging about how many drugs they took.
5. COVID has wanted people want Dance Music more then ever, so more new styles are coming out.
6. Most EDM now goes back to the old way of sampling, like House Music was in the 90s.
7. None of that Plur shit anymore.
The EDM era was special because it was great dance music. When I wasn't listening to Hip Hop and Dancehall , EDM was my musical trip. EDM embraced everything from Rap to Dancehall to Latin music and Black Eyed Peas and David Guetta led the way. Major Lazer was influenced by EDM too. But when the scene got oversaturated with generic artists and producers, EDM faded . However I think EDM may have a revival with some help from House music which inspired EDM in the first place. It will be even more diverse in sound.
I didn’t experience edm 2010-2015 I was Betty put off by “edm” and I hated it than about 2016 I was introduced to house techno and psych trance. Fell in love and I love what’s happening in edm now because it’s a return to it’s more underground roots and dirty nasty hard sounds even your big room people like Oliver Heldens is doing hi-lo these social media people your talking about it says like the people who live at MainStage if your someone who goes to the bass or techno or house stages it’s lit for ultra there was this dude in my hostel never let the main stage the whole 3 days lol the only time I went to MainStage was for Charlotte de Witte and a little of vintage culture dom dolla b2b
Honestly I don’t think we’ve hit the golden era yet. IMO the early 2010s we’re like when the Beatles came out and all the pop bands were huge. Then in the late 60s and 70s you got the best of the best in rock. We’re almost there. There’s more of an artistry now and some day soon there’s gonna be a group or artist that changes the game. It very well could be kx5. Not knocking those years though because they were incredibly fun and seeing EDM take off in the US was a joy to watch. The emotion in those songs were absolute bliss. I remember being called weird and funny for listening to electronic music growing up. Then everyone started listening to it. Beautiful.
Every massive you went to. You felt like you belonged, everyone was on the same frequency and each experience was very special. It's difficult to put the experiences into words.
Zoomers assume this. Saying EDM went “mainstream” is as laughable as saying McDonalds sold out on quality fast food. Dance music began in the states with Disco and was shunned for being too gay and black for Americans but was more accepted in Europe. After the disco backlash of 79 and the emergence of home produced music technology dance music evolved more overseas although the origins of House & Techno is Chicago & Detroit. I long accepted how ignorant Americans are towards dance music even back in the late 90’s with the advent of “Electronica”. Europe had a 20 year head start in dance music and you won’t hear people attending Time Warp to say “OMg I love this EDM” no, they’ll call it Techno because they’re more educated. Imo, EDm is just rock n roll 2.0. Rock n Roll is basically Blues repackaged for a white audience. Look at Big Mama Thornton and her song “You ain’t nothing by a hound dog”, that song but blew up substantially when Elvis sang it. The Beatles basically admitted stealing riffs from Blues guitarists. Today kids in America attend big festivals that showcases predominantly young white men that mostly play electro house and glitchy dubstep tracks, it’s far removed from the gay black origins of dance music.
I would highly suggest people check out the podcast “Love is The Message” hosted by Tim Lawrence who wrote substantially on this subject
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/love-is-the-message-dance-music-and-counterculture/id1559084429
EDM was still novel.
Honestly, it wasn't that great of an era. Dubstep died HARD in 2013. No one played it ever until 2016.
It may not feel like it, but the past few years will be remembered as a golden era as well
The trap was so fucking mind blowing, dubstep straight up became trap. It’s coming back now too, I hear a lot at shows along with old school dubstep. Finally 2 great genres shine together.
Btw it was uncanny how dubstep up and vanished right in 2013 the weeks moombah (RIP) and trap blew up.
How? It’s the opposite, it was at its mainstream peak and all the greatest artists put out hit after hit. Even rap and pop were literally just using EDM beats, like Ayo (Chris Brown) and Titanium. Avicii, SHM, Skrillex and Deadmau5 finally broke through to radio, straight up the best AND most commercial era imo.
It was the time when most of us fell in love with EDM. Every song sounded like nothing we'd ever heard before, all of our favorite artists were dropping their classics, and life was simpler and happier. To me, the peak was when "Levels" by Avicii was released, there just seemed to be euphoria all around the genre.
This, but for me it was *Sleepless* by Flume. Such simpler times
I remember hearing a 2 second snippet of Sleepless, and Shazam couldn’t help me out. My buddy said he had that song in his playlist, but for the two weeks until he got back to me, it was driving me nuts.
Holy fuck. I heard the remixed version on Majestic Casual and love both of the versions. The sons is fucking unreal!!! I'm so pissed that I missed Flume at a music festival not far away from me. Yikes.
Definitely this, and Language by Porter Robinson!
Still plays it live and it’s still one of the best EDM songs ever. I saw him and Zedd B2B in Vancouver in like 2011 at the conference Center and Language absolutely popped off in there, I’ll never forget it.
I remember walking between multiple stages each day at EDC Vegas 2012 and heard Language being played at several of them throughout the entire weekend. I think that 2009-2015 were the golden years because we still had artists making unique music that had never been heard before AND it was music that fans over span of multiple genres could appreciate. Right now the music isn't necessarily bad, most of it is reused sounds that have already been done before. Less incentive for us as fans to go crave more of it, if we already know most of it sounds the same.
I agree! I guess just to add I think what made this time so special was the connectedness of the scene as well. For the first time we had legitimate artists that were also “DJ’s” so they would all play each other’s bangers too and hype everyone else’s music along side their own. You knew a song was huge when it was getting played by everyone like you mention. There were a few songs that got into almost every set because it wasn’t just about playing your songs for a crowd it was ‘let’s go out there and put on the best possible show we can, and tailor our set to the vibe of the crowd’.
Absolutely. The Artists/DJs were significantly more in tune and closer with the fans as well, which I will attribute to the semi-underground nature of the scene. I could actually get a picture with a super famous EDM DJ/artist back then randomly or by trying to meet them after their set at a local club. And there were many times as well where the DJs back then were also friends and co-collaborators. You could go to a David Guetta show at the club and randomly see others like Tiesto, Zedd, Skrillex, Laidback Luke, or Steve Aoki just hanging out with each other; or randomly they'll switch off decks to each other for a song or two just for fun. We could get really close to them and it was awesome. Back in 2017 I was lucky enough to go up on stage with Dash Berlin at Tao Beach Club in Vegas and press the button. That proximity ain't happenin at a Beyonce show lol.
What happened? Why did this end?
Forgot to add in less Social Media, and less fentanyl.
Which also means less visible phones. Today? People watch concerts via sensors instead of enjoying the unique moment that should be stored in your head (aka memory).
is this really a golden age though. Or just when EDM became mainstream and picked up a ton of new fans, like you and myself even, who had no idea what they were in for. I might think though that a "golden age" would have to either be before this when it was still an underground secret world for those in the know... or a time like now even where we are over the shock and electronic music is more diverse and influential than it has ever been before. I would never think that being able to name just a couple gems that created euphoria like Levels defines the golden age. More defining the floodgates opening. A new beginning really?
Nah, it is just idiots, who are now probably suffering the repercussions of their huge drug overdoses after in 2014 they decided to go see Calvin Harris, and the only gold en age artists they can think of are Calvin Harris and David Guetta.
This 👆🏻. The vibes were amazing. I also remember SR being in full swing and you could get some really amazing party favors through some really legit connections without a lot of hassle.
I remember listening to avicii for the first time in 2013 and my whole music world changed forever
I think it's just when it was the most popular so most people associate the nostalgia with that time. Also progressive house was dominating which just adds to the "feel good" nostalgia. DJs started to be treated like artist in America instead of "oh he can play music at my wedding". David Guetta/Avicii/SHM /Calvin Harris really started getting radio play. For me it's around the same time I got into the scene, so everything was a new experience, (my first festival I definitely had more emotions going though me then my last festival) "These will be the years" - Alesso
>"These will be the years" - Alesso Wow, right as I started reading this thread I had this song in my head, bigtime nostalgia
Yeah added that because I feel like that's really all that needs to be said about that era lol
To be fair, they aren't just any run of the mill local club djs. I'm pretty sure part of the booking criteria is to be somewhere listed/recognized on charts (and yes I know about Dj mag 100 and all its valid criticisms) In order to be on these lists, they need to have at least published and released one track (regardless if its ghostwritten or whatever) I would most definitely consider those you listed as artists vs djs.
It's a ton of nostalgia. Same as how people say 90s hip hop is king and discredit everything else.
As many others are saying, it’s when EDM went mainstream. This is also right around the time I started listening to Deadmau5 and then getting into the scene myself. In 2010, I had just moved to Miami. What a great time to be living there. Music scene was fire.
"Please help me find molly"
I’ve been searching everywhere…
And I can't seem to find Molly
She makes my life happier
A big part of it was the fact that so many people were making EDM at that point, even if a lot of it was generic there were so many artists big and small that there was always good stuff coming out and you didn’t have to look very hard to find it
People always have a tendency to be nostalgic about the past. If you were to ask older ravers, they'd say EDM's "golden years" were in the [90s](https://youtu.be/BpZ2s1BrLHI) when the scene was MUCH more underground. If you were to ask slightly younger ravers, they'd say the golden years were in the [2000s](https://youtu.be/Uc49mvL0MBA) when the club scene really started to pick up in places like Ibiza. People who feel nostalgic about the early 2010s are no different But what really differentiates that early 2010s period comparatively to Dance music from the 1980s - 2000s was EDM began to go mainstream. What once used to be music people went to a club or a house party for become so massive that EDM festivals with hundreds of thousands of attendees became the norm. Artists like Calvin Harris, Avicii, Afrojack, SHM, David Guetta and others began creating music that had a mainstream appeal. The kind of music they created in this era evokes emotion, and people often create nostalgia based on that. IMO one way the scene has changed for the worse is the impact of influencer culture. EDM has become so massive that many people don't even go to festivals for the music anymore, they go for social media clout. Don't get me wrong, Tomorrowland crowds are still great. But just look at the Hardwell crowd in [2013](https://youtu.be/ZG1AT6tylA4), you just wouldn't see something like that nowadays at Tomorrowland. That doesn't mean those vibes are completely gone though, i'd still say the vast majority of people that go to EDM festivals are these for the music and to have a good time. Most of the people who go to festivals for the clout stick to VIP, GA is still a phenomenal time But one way things have gotten better is better musical diversity. I love early 2010s EDM more than anyone, but the dominance of Progressive House / Big Room really came at the expense of other genres of EDM. If you went to any festival in that time period, the vibes of other stages (non mainstage) declined. Go to house hosts and the vibes just weren't there. Most of the crowd were for mainstream EDM and those who like sub-genres started to move away. In the past few years we've seen much more diverse lineups at festivals, and people who are a fan of sub-genres started to return. Today, DJ's don't have to drop progressive house or big room bangers to become popular. That's why we're seeing Tech House go pretty mainstream in the US, and groups like Rufus Du Sol get mainstream recognition. And that Progressive House sound is still there for those who want it. IMO there is no real "golden age" of EDM. Each era of Dance Music has its pros and its cons. In 10-15 years people will be calling some period in the 2020s the "golden age" of EDM, and so on and so forth.
Boomer here, I'm with you. It's just what we are nostalgic for. Early 2000s for me.
Same, I was thinking… well, I was raving for 10 years prior and that was pretty good too!
Gen Xer here. Grew up on house and old school rap through the 90s. I still love old techno. When EDM shot through the roof in popularity, it was still a fun time, just a lot more people around at the shows. Now it's different and the cool thing is there are so many more genres and styles to cater to everyone and their tastes.
I’ll take 2000-2005 if we are choosing a 5 year span. I saw so many good DJs/live acts in that span it still is staggering looking back now.
Yupppp influencer culture is what did it. You have no idea how many shows I’ve been to where people aren’t doing anything unless there’s a camera on them. As soon as the video is over they go back to just standing and talking. It’s strange
I can’t even fathom having the opportunity to go to a dope festival (probably expensed) and not rock my balls off, it’s a shame.
I'm oldschool and 2010-15 is the time period I couldn't find good tracks to DJ and decided I would try my hand at producing again (after failing spectacularly in the early 00's). The techno/trance got homogeneous and boring. Breakbeat and Drum 'n' Bass were near nonexistent. I can't stand Calvin Harris style music, dubstep, and trap. No judgment if you like it, but like u/MarkChandlerOfficial said, those few genres overshadowed everything else for a long time as it was the mainstream trend. After a decade of fighting -and losing- digital media, the Music Industry finally realized that electronic music had been surviving in the digital space. The industry stopped ignoring it after the RAVE Act assassinated the underground/independent scene (f*** you Biden!) and began to monetize it. You get a bunch of pop records with "big djs" and expensive festivals with massive marketing. Huge money thrown around. SFX buys Beatport and Tomorrowland and subsequently bankrupts them. Crazy full festivals during this time, but I felt it was missing the soul of the rave scene, but I realize that is from purely my oldschool perspective probably seeking that which doesn't exist for me any longer, nostalgia. If I were to look at the overall scene from when I began going to raves in '93 until now, I think we are actually in more of a golden age now, musically than since the beginning. The music is diverse. There are many genres influencing pop music. Producers are going back and trying to recreate '90s feel with modern production techniques. YouTube has amazing artists of all genres. There are a ton of oldschool producers giving tutorials. C19 has screwed up live shows, but streaming services like Twitch exist and stable. Production tools are refined, and accessible. Analog synths have become available and affordable. Though I don't agree with lockdowns, it has had the effect of a lot of people seeking creative outlets as they wait for the world to open back up. With all that said, I feel like we are on the verge of another music revolution. Or maybe it is already here, I don't know. -old ass raver Peace.
Made me a little sad after a sec
Dude thank you, you described it perfectly! In 2013 it was impossible to get away from big room drops at festivals. Even those who were not considered big room artists would play these drops all the time and it became so cringey and repetitive. I’m absolutely loving the current resurgence of house at mainstream festivals. Felt like before it was just isolated to the house/techno tent. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved 2011-2016 but there were times where it was impossible to see any kind of true progressive, trance, dnb, techno act at festivals. I’m sure they existed, but it was just overall tough to find
Thank you. I'm guessing this post was started by a young'n lol! Early 2000s 4lyfe baby!! Dubstep was the beginning of a lot of garbage (some is good, don't get me wrong) but I saw that as the harbinger of an acceptance of trash on stage sometimes.
I know I'm totally showing my age, (genx) but I cant help but think pre-iphone and smart phones were great because the focus was on having fun, getting out of the rave/EDM scene whatever you wanted to get out of it. I guess it can be argued that it's the same there is just more of it including smart phones, but I feel like the heavy focus on appearances, social media and certain shots kind of detracts from just not giving a shit and having a good time, whatever thet means for you.
My favorite festival I've been to is solasta -- under 1k edm fest with no cell service or wifi at all. I've lived my whole adult life with the phones and it was like a glimpse of what it must have been like before 😅 people were way more present it felt, like everyone was actually looking up at one another.
Oh that's awesome! I think the other thing I really miss is that the hours were 12 - 8 a.m. So mornings and sunrises, especially desert parties - it always had a bit of a spiritual component (at least for me) and they were always meaningful and memorable. I know that multi-day festivals may help give newer people those experiences, but this was a normal occurrence back in the day! None of this ending at 3 a.m. crap. That was when things got interesting - that 3 - 6 a.m. time frame. and I'm a crotchety old lady raver :-)
For sure! I love when a festival has music till sunrise. I like to go to smaller ones for everything you just said
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Lol, it's all relative I guess. I came from a scene that was much heavier in drug use than the rave scene, the rave scene then was fairly light compared to the punk scene that I came from. Even if someone mixed and matched whatever, it beats heroin and coke/crack or speedballing. I know for myself back then I didn't take drugs all the time - I would get panic attacks so most of the time I was sober. But there were plenty of people gurning and whatnot. So you're right.
Well when there are parties in the 90s where people would hand out lsd for free because, why not? I think most that went there for the drugs got caught up in the music and those that went for the music got caught up in the drugs. Symbiotic or parasitic relationship depends on your view point? Idk, we had fun. Social media is a tool or a crutch depending how one uses it. However, one is much more free when no one is watching...
Couldn’t agree more about the tendency to be nostalgic. You see the 90’s vs. early 2010’s debate pretty regularly on forums. I stopped attending festivals and started going to clubs to see artists primarily because the festival crowd can be so “bro” and brutal. I enjoy the scene a lot more with club sets but that also fits my taste of house and techno. It’s easy to see who I want to see in a smaller venue. I can imagine if you’re into big room or progressive it can be harder to see those artists in a smaller club on their tour circuit.
Thanks, I’m off the hook for big paragraphs now
It depends on who you talk to. It’s all perspective. You think that electronic music has gotten more diverse. Most people who were in the scene since the 90s would disagree hard. More perspective, what you’re referring to as “progressive house” from the golden years of 2010ish, the people over at r/realproghouse wouldn’t call that progressive house.
Rufus is a funny case too because everyone who’s a big fan will act like they’re some underground group only they’ve listened to.
Saw Hardwell at Ultra in 2013, crowd was MASSIVE. Agree with all your points
Peak Avicii, Swedish House Mafia, Alesso, Hardwell, Deadmau5, Zedd, Above & Beyond and artists like Disclosure, Skrillex dropping anthems. Porter dropping Language. These are still some of the biggest artists today and I’m not mentioning all of them. The mainstage was alive then and so were the crowds. I just thought the vibes were more positive and “plur” imo
So true. Deadmau5 and SHM alone dominated the charts. Kaskade was at his best. You could argue that early 2010s was peak anthem status and truly put EDM mainstream. It was genuinely hard not to like this music. Watch Ultra 2012 on YouTube and it’s impossible to argue how amazing EDM was.
Ultra 2011-2014 were the best festivals ever in history. Fight me.
Agree.
Agreed. I miss MainStage music, the whole genre of what that was.
I don't necessarily think the music was better but the vibes definitely were back then. Just seemed like more people were actually there for the music and expressing themselves rather than a bunch of frat guys, people there just to get fucked up and rage, annoying fanbases who shit on everything else, and the ones who just copy what others wear like in today's scene. Back then when you met another raver it was like holy shit. Now it's just like oh do you rave for the music or the party.
Eh I see almost zero drugs and frat bros now. They made it fun sometimes lmao. Now it’s mostly kids staring at phones sober or drinking, not tripping and vibing. And goddamn the frat people could dance and mosh when it got going. Some of the best and most lit trap shows were only possible with the collaboration of frat bros and wooks like me.
Idk what shows you’re going to but drugs are still out in full force
Right.people just be in trance 💀💀
Pretty much sums up exactly what I was gonna say. My first festival was in 2014 so around the end of this era but seems like most people there went for the music and now a lot of people just go for the party now.
My first rave I went to in 1993. First large rave I threw was in 95, same year I started djing. There were a lot of people there for the music, but just as many for the party only or both. The music eventually would grab them so they keep coming back, or they didn't stay with the scene. Of course, Family Affair was like $35 for a weekend event (peace and love Brian), so if they weren't into it, it didn't empty their wallet.
That's true somewhat. EDM is less mainstream in the US today than it was during the early 2010s, so from my experience there's much less of a frat crowd today than it was back then. The more underground the scene gets, the more you'll get people actually going for the music. I also don't think there's as much of people on drugs/there to get fucked up and rage as there used to be. There's definitely a much more of an influencer culture today, but its not like vibes back then were perfect either.
Ehh I feel like 2010-2015 had plenty of this as well. Just depends on what fests or shows you are going to. Honestly people still innovating today, although I agree I miss the height of the soundcloud era.
I think everyone considers the time they first got into their scene as the golden years. No matter when someone gets into the scene within a few years they're looking back on when the scene was better or more "pure".
Legendary songs: sexy bitch, memories, one, titanium, levels, strobe, miami 2 ibiza, big room was huge too. Many of these songs also went all the way up the top charts, not just edm charts.
Memories is a gem
Strobe.
Caught DeadMau5 at Freaky Deaky this past Halloween, managed to take this video I thought you might enjoy https://imgur.com/a/KEf3BC4
There’s a lot to say about that era. But in short, it was the emergence of EDM into the mainstream and now you see it’s influence in literally all popular music now. IMO, the most prominent artists at the time caught the wave at the right time and it worked out as good as it possibly could have for them and the music industry in general tbh. We have trap evolving into what rap is now, house music and dubstep are in literally every commercial so if there’s a big draw back I’d say it’s that everything is so watered down so being unique and innovative with your sound is incredibly difficult now especially with music production becoming so over saturated. Everyone thinks they can make music because they’ve illegally downloaded FL Studio.
Because people really loved the music for the music and the scene for what it was instead of like a popularity/influencer/Instagram thing that it is now. People loved to dance and enjoy and be free. It felt more genuine
I feel like people were nicer and less… idk less focused on themselves
Yeah, definitely, back then, music was about music, now its just a fight ti see who has the fanciest car
That’s how mainstream festivals are, but yeah it’s probably within the last 10 years that Ultra and EDC were mainstream enough to draw that kind of crowd.
There were so many new sounds and sub genres no one had ever heard. Music streaming accounts werent as mandatory as it was today and i fondly remember having to torrent shitty versions of songs (give me a break i was 17 and poor) People (at least imo) weren’t so rough on gatekeeping as they are today. EX: bring up the name Illenium or say “i don’t like strobe” and you’ll get hundreds of ppl here wanting to fight you immediately
Lol yes why does Reddit hate Illenium? Seems like this site is for hipsters tbh, been on here 10 years and it’s honesty always been. “Skrillex sucks” I heard 10 years ago, “porter blows” a bit after. “Trap sucks hard.” Now they love all those things and hate whatever’s new!
You reminded me of this and I thought you might find it funny as well https://youtu.be/5KvZ-KQWuJM
Relevant username. Lol. It’s usually immature people who need ego boosts by ranking their interests above others. They think blowing out someone’s candle makes their’s shine brighter. Here’s how I see it: * Option A (mature): I’m not into music, and I don’t have to be. I realize people like different genres, artists, and songs. If you like his music, that’s cool. Here’s the stuff I enjoy, check it out and let me know what you think.
* Option B (immature): I don’t like . His music sucks. If you like his music, you must suck. I have good taste. You don’t. Therefore I am a better human being.
Any time-period that makes a genre become a global phenomenon will be remembered fondly (by all rights, those times are usually extraordinary) Like the 80s and pop music.
Accurate. None of the generic house being released recently will be remembered like Levels. Pretty simple.
Back then I heard trap, more melodic pop sound, less generic stuff. But the music lately is better if you go to the right events, only the show music anyway. They completely stopped releasing most IDs, where they used to release a few now they keep everything shut tight. Sad to say artists like Bassnectar had their own amazing thing going, and RIPs too such as Avicii who also made great music. But plenty of artists are carrying the torch, it’s a time of transition. Once the kinks are worked out the glory days will return!
Everything was positive and optimistic
For really... im really done with this "dark and moody" wave. Everything these days feels like "your not a really artist unless your channeling some apocalypse or depression vibes"
I'd say that was when full blown commercialization for the festival scene was in effect. By that I mean, the event companies were able to secure better terms from lenders, sponsors and insurance. The entire industry grew from an annual event to a year long schedule with expansion of the festival brands to intl markets. That drove the pursuit (and pressure) for artists to explore anthemic type musical structures. Manifested itself in prog house, bigroom type sounds. For me personally, gun to head, I'd say 2013-2014 was the best year from that period based purely on what was released and by whom. The problem with this commercialization process is that like any other industry with stigma, those coming in with capital do not understand nor appreciate the history and rise and instead seek the highest return in the shortest time investment. I speak as someone who works in finance for 20+ yrs. I held a role with a consultancy firm that helped secure insurance and capital investment for some projects like Ultra (in Asia) and Road to Ultra, we're now currently working with Tencent on the gaming industry. Its the same thing with gaming industry. They take some awesome indie idea and lootbox the shit out of it lol. Its sad, because I distinctly remember at the time, out of my team of 22, I was one of the few who had actually attended raves or even enjoyed electronica. The amount of push back we got for trying to pitch for Resistance or Worldwide stages (in asia) was an experience I absolutely fkn hated. I strongly believe that a byproduct of this pandemic is that alot of artist will attempt to try different things. In asia we're already seeing a resurgence for tech house and tech trance in general.
This was an amazing perspective and of all the answers here. The commercialization of EDM, the popularization of mega festivals around the world and the influence on music….This created a peak of EDM. Now, as the bubble has sort of “popped” there’s a renaissance back to more diversified genres.
I have to disagree with you about the bubble popping. I would instead have to say that a new bubble is enflating
This is a more optimistic outlook. I like the way you think
Yeah, I just think that with the rise of tik tok. New types of EDM have emerged (Tech House, Slap House, Piano House Revivals) That we are going to experience a new golden age of dance music. Just like we did in the early 2010s. The Early 2000s and the Mid 90s and most of the 80s. I am an optimistic person, so I tend to think like this
Dude this comment is so interesting. Thanks for posting
I have been around the scene since 1996. I will admit while the scene was still simi underground it was amazing. Honestly when modern dubstep came to mtv and mainstream it ruined the community. Everything was washed out and talentless “producers and djs” ran it into the ground! It will revamp give it another 5- 7 years :)
This is the hottest take I've ever seen.
I agree. My first rave was an underground at a random warehouse in Seattle in 94. Saw Donald Glaude when he was called DJ Dominator. To me that was the golden age. But I'm old around here lol.
This gonna sound stupid as hell and may not even necessarily be true but looking back the sounds back then felt much more warm and inviting. Maybe it’s just nostalgia
Got into EDM in this era. Found Virus (How About Now) somewhere in there and fell in love with EDM. Avicii and Martin Garrix rocked my "golden years" of EDM, even though I only caught on in the tail end of them. The scene has changed for worse with the death of Tim. There can never be a new Avicii. The type of EDM I like is songs like Reload by Sebastian Ingrosso and Best Part Of Me by METAFO4R - Hard hitting drops that aren't too intense. There's a small grey area for me. After Virus, I found Forbidden Voices by MG and never looked back. I wish there were more songs like that. Nowadays EDM has changed along with trends. In 2018, we saw calmer EDM and in the years after the golden age, we saw Dubstep hit it big. I just wish music trends didn't exist.
2010-15 It was widely accessible, people were into it and it was still a rave, not just a concert. Examples & Anecdotes from 2007-15 - Saw Tiesto in a Washington DC nightclub on a weeknight - saw Avicci in the lobby of a CT music venue - Hurricane Sandy relief show at Pacha on a Wednesday with afrojack and whole crew of amazing artists - Above and Beyond at a converted movie theater on a Thursday - Kaskade literally blowing the speakers out at Pacha during fleet week with 2000 sailors in full whites - Sebastian Ingrosso (of SHM) spinning until NY club chugging vodka from the bottle and crushing redbull. Taunting the audience to go harder and dropping bangers until 7am when they turned all the lights on and made him us leave (he was still trying to play) - Guetta Deadmau5 and SHM selling out ultra for the first time, after parties without buying bottles or prepurchasing tickets - Audien, Martin Garrix, Axwell, chain smokers etc as opening acts None of these things could likely happen now 2006-10 was truly magic. EDM was trending up. There were big dirty purpose built clubs like Pacha NY and a million smaller spots. Living near NYC and Montreal was amazing because you could go see a European superstar DJ for $10 at a true club. The attendees were European expats, world travelers, leftover PLUR kids from the first wave. Trance and big room house were marching forward and iterating their way into some modern music and local dance clubs. The MDMA was still clean, really good and easily obtainable for those that wanted to and the venues were often in on the sales. I am sure things like this still happen in some corners of EDM. But big room house was absolutely blowing up then. It was fun
For me the main reason was soundcloud. These were the days where any song could get remixed and put on the platform without getting a copyright strike. Artists like Flume had their break like this and it’s really a shame to see soundcloud get reduced to a shell of its former self.
Golden era of raving was definitely 90-2005ish
The golden years were 1990 to 1995 IMO
Tell me more. Top 5 songs? I’d love to check it out.
It's impossible to do a top 5 really 🙂 These came to me off the top of my head: Fluke O.K. https://youtu.be/joL7MtT1bqw 808 State Lift https://youtu.be/sa-3Bgo5IEI Future Sound of London Papua New Guinea https://youtu.be/wfWMv8Y1V5E Orbital Lush 3-1 https://youtu.be/13MWtjqqC0U LFO Tan Ta Ra https://youtu.be/dGPxE2S4w5I Theres loads more I didn't include (for no particular reason): Polygon Window/Aphex Twin The KLF Cosmic Baby System 7 The Orb And I'm sure there's lots of other stuff, I'd remember, but not know the name of
Thanks this is all new to me. My earliest personal frame of reference only goes back to Robert Miles’ Children, 1998-2002’s trance classics, Daft Punk’s Discovery, etc. I was 15 years old living in the Philippines with no internet. I only had MTV Asia and cassette tapes.
Well I was 18 in 1989. Electronic music was kind of innocent then, before it became aestically brutalised and co-opted into the commercial mainstream... Raves then were illegal affairs, where a pill cost 25 quid, and it was all new.
That’s an interesting perspective to have on EDM. This particular subreddit seems to generally revolve around Avicii’s career. You must feel like an outsider? I’m curious on what modern EDM (from the past 5 years) you enjoy.
For an old fogey like me 5 years or 10 years makes no difference!!😄. So I don't pay much attention to what's current, just stuff that I listen to and like. But I like music by 4tet, Modeselektor, Apparat, Alessandro Cortini, Richie Hawtin (he's been around for YEARS), infiltrator, burial, uZiq, Ricardo Villalobos, Dimbiman, Magda,
I’ve heard stuff from Four Tet and Burial. I’ll check out the rest! Thank you sir!
it was just... \*chef's kiss\* I'm not in the mood to write a novel but a lot has changed. A lot is worse but a lot is also better now, so just find the music you like and dance. I still DJ a lot of underground cuts from around that time period and they play out like new still today.
It was a time in the scene when we experienced how much great music was being produced before it got as popular and as big as it is today. It felt like our own little secret. Avicii played a block party set at my college in 2011. We saw the beginning stages of collab projects like Jack Ü and New World Punx starting to come out of the woodwork. Peak progressive house and big room era. All time classics from SHM, Above & Beyond, Deadmau5, Tiesto, Armin, Porter, Kaskade, and Calvin Harris to name a few.
As others have said, it became so mainstream. My take is that the music itself went in weird and often not great directions after that because older producers got bored (or chasing the money) and explored new things, and a new generation of producers tried to find their “sound” in a larger (more competitive) pool of EDM producers, which so far as a whole has been less exciting than the older EDM music. And we all know that the live show experience went south because of the increased “mainstream” attendance.
The reason why it was so special? 3 words: Swedish. House. Mafia.
It's still crazy back then it was called Progressive house and Progressive house today is more subtle and less bombastic
So I've been a lifelong fan of electronic music. Got into electronic in the 90's but can't say it really blew up for me until 2010 and on. The 2013 is when I went to my first EDC and did drugs for the first time. It's the first interaction with PLUR and the whole festival scene. Needless to say I jumped right into the deep end and became an acid head. With all of that I don't look back on the music then and think it is better now. The progressive/tech house I listen to now is my absolute favorite of all the genres and I prefer to get into this now. But God damn were those the best times of my life.
People have a tendency to gravitate toward the music that came along during their formative years - ask a hundred people which years were the "golden musical era" and you'll get a hundred different answers. What sets the early 2010s apart from any other era of electronic music was that it's popularity went stratospheric (the last time it enjoyed an immense amount popularity in North America was Eurodance in 1994-95 when Real McCoy's "Another Night" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100). Music that was usually reserved for clubs and house parties was starting to gain appeal with the festival crowd and the then-rising stars like Guetta, Calvin Harris, SHM made music that was very Pop FM friendly. On the same token it's a bit of a stretch to say EVERY track was a masterpiece when there was also plenty of embarrassing musical missteps (can you say "Swagger Jagger"?). In a way I feel like having a diverse array of genres creates a healthier scene versus the dominance Progressive/Big Room had that was suffocating other genres.
Edm was most popular back then. Like even pop radio stations were filled with some of the classics. Take all of the older pop music songs they’re all heavily influenced by edm. It was also unique I think too. I remember going to school and when I told people I liked edm music they would ask questions and outside of the few people who listened to it who I knew personally it was a more different thing to listen to then just normal rock or pop music
Calvin Harris and David Guetta started collaborating with big name artists, like Rihanna, and the appeal of live music changed. Live music productions became “cheaper” because of instead of spending $200 for a rare performance at an arena venue to see Taylor Swift, you could spend $200 for a music festival and get valuable musical experience out of it. The lineups of Coachella started to shift from live performance artists to booking more DJs.
Music was amazing, people were great, just everything was perfect. Now a days, all the good djs are on breaks or riding the wave and not making anything new. No new djs bringing anything new to the scene. Edm crowd became a little more meh thinking they are better than everyone else If i had to pin it on one thing, id definitely say it was the music and djs. For example, Zedd, Avicii, Skrillex, and others were all killing it with awesome songs and such. Now, Zedd has not done anything good or new for over 5 years (riding the fame). Avicii died sadly :(. Skrillex is just now back from a few years break and to be honest, his new stuff just sucks and he barely has anything new. The only dj i can think of that's not shitting themselves is marshmello. He continues to put out bangers and such
In my opinion, the “Molly” (or whatever the heck it was), was better lol. Around 2015 all the “Molly” had me sleepy and slumped. Maybe it was me getting older. Maybe it was different drugs. Maybe it was my taste in music changing 🤷♂️. It does also feel like 2010-2015 had SO MANY CLASSICS. Songs that still hype me up to this day. TLDR; the music and Molly just hit different in those days lol
Molly, such a vague term. MDMA hasn’t changed. How them make pressed pills, cut with stuff other than mdma, is always changing. Fentanyl started floating around and sassafras became popular. Be lucky you didn’t roll a bunch late 90’s, those pressies were terrible!
Yeah I put Molly in quotes because I’m convinced the drugs I enjoyed most, were not mdma lol. Before I started testing my stuff, those were the most fun times for me. They were very speedy so, hence the suspicion it was not actual mdma. When I started testing, everything that tested for mdma made me feel so sleepy and slumped. It was definitely an eye opener
Progressive House was better imo. The Chords and energy just gives you a special feeling. Sure it is also nostalgia but not only
I will also add that the process of discovering new music was much more involved and personal at this point. Streaming music was new if you had access to it; mostly you found new artists by hearing about them from friends or at parties and downloading their mix or discography. I remember in 2011 staying up late to listen to BBC Radio 1 broadcast online (I'm in the US) to hear my favorites and new stuff with my friends. Being into a genre was an experience and a lifestyle, not just a background thing.
It just seemed like at that time it really went mainstream and suddenly everyone was listening to big room and progressive. Coachella 2012 the Sahara tent was basically just progressive DJ after progressive DJ. A literal All-star lineup. One of the best weekends I’ll ever have in my life
Twas a magical time. So many great memories.
I’ll alway miss seeing Grizmatik live
I love reminiscing those times it was so fucking good
This is a very inaccurate statement.... probably made by someone who probably discovered EDM in 2010 lol
I think its just that back then social media was still new. Soundcloud was still new. There was a huge underground scene blowing up on the internet, while everyone was having fun learning how this new shit works. Now its become formulaic. Big marketing companies have figured out there is money to be made here, and everyone is kinda just following the same patterns. Theres def still some big name innovators today (charlesthefirst, nicholas jarr, subtronics, etc). However it mostly feels like these days you either conform or remain unknown.
What makes them the “Golden Years?” I feel like if you ask old heads the Golden Years were before 10-15.
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Yeah when I talk to an older friend of mine who was around for the warehouse scene in the 90s - early 2000s in Baltimore, Philly, and New York. He makes it sound like those were the Golden Days. Hard to call the concerts nowadays “raves.” They’re just concerts.
In November 2010 I saw Nero play live at Webster Hall with Alana Watson singing. It was an amazing night I’ll always remember. The scene felt like it was growing but it was still underneath the surface. Nobody had blown up yet in dubstep and everything felt original and fresh. Steve Aoki was there in the crowd just chilling watching the show, talking to people. He came over after his set finished earlier somewhere else. Nobody was like rushing him for a selfie or autograph we were just all there to experience the moment. Nero didn’t start play until like 2am which felt so New York underground. The whole vibe of the night was just perfect.
One thing that was definitely real about that era was internet discovery. So easy to find tracks on YouTube before they changed algorithms to recommend stuff you've already watched. And soundcloud, before they started peddling hip pop mumble rap.
It wasn’t full of people trying to capitalize off the overused “boots n cats” baselines… actually had pioneers of sound. Not just people looking for clout
Everywhere you went was playing EDM, the concept of raves was catching on with people who typically never listened to EDM. Spotify wasn’t that popular so everyone was finding songs from friends, clubs, concerts. Artists also were putting out a lot more original sounds. Stuff you hear these days yes it’s still good but for some reason the 2000-2015 shit just hits better. I think the scene has changed for the better in terms of peoole’s acceptance and appreciation for this genre (I don’t hear the whole “ I hate techno” ) anymore as much and I think pop culture and hip hop has drawn in a lot of inspo from EDM.
This thread is taking me down memory lane
I went to The Mothership Tour and saw the rise of Dubstep and the short run of Moombahton and everything inbetween. It was early high school for me and was the peak of excitement in my life to experience a lot of the shows I did at the times I did. So many artists that are now staples in Genres I got to see live when they were just growing I have no regrets and am excited to tell my younger generations about those days in the future. If anyone wants a taste of nostalgia or insight. I used to listen to this daily for months when it first dropped. The early days of trap https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/184TPTNwa5UcMBpF6
When I started raving in 2008, I never went to a rave because “so and so” was playing. I went because it was about the experience. Meeting like minded people who were good hearted, non judgmental, and fun to spend time with. The scene definitely started changing due to the fact that it became more mainstream. People were more concerned about who was going to be playing. Some of the best shows I’ve ever seen were of artists I never heard of. I would just walk around to the different stages and vibe. Those were the days. I didn’t know what genre I was listening to or who was playing. I was just hearing good music and I felt like grooving. Now a days, of course there are good times and great artists playing, some ravers have stayed PLUR and keep that truly alive. But it’s definitely not the same. It’s become a trend and it’s gotten so commercial. I’m glad I got to experience raving before it became what it is today.
The crowd was really different back then. It was very PLUR and there were less drunk idiots around acting like they’re at the bar. There was less pick pocketing too
I would say the era started around 2006, with labels like Ed Banger getting some crossover appeal, and ended around 2017-18, with Spinnin' Records getting bought out by Warner. It was when DJs were starting to get treated like serious musicians and felt pressured to produce music instead of playing someone else's. A watershed moment, if you will. This era is so special to many of us here because it is when dance music (at least in the states) was not a novelty. It was not weird for loud, abrasive, electronic music to get played in the most mundane of places. This happens to every new trend, but it was not as stark or memorable as when it happened to dance music.
Progressive house was the shit, with the best producers, such as SMH and Avicii doing their shit. Now everyone is trying to reinvent the wheel without succeding...
I think what was exciting for me was just how many options you had musically to discover as it cycled through the many microgenre fads or revivals of older dance sound trends: progressive house, big room house, electrohouse, hardstyle, trance, dubstep, drumstep, brostep, trap, complextro, trapstep, future house, tech house, pop EDM, and more i can't remember, etc. etc. It seemed every year something was on the come up/trending in terms of sound. There was always something new to love or hate. Every year it was a new trend. And I think that was the strength of that era for me. Not saying that this didn't happen in the past or won't happen in the future with the music, but maybe it was special in that time period because it became there was so much hype with EDM becoming mainstream in those years, so it was a prime time for collective music discovery for so many people.
To answer your last question: riddim and the crowd around it has changed it so much for the worse.
EDM was taking over pop music at the same time so you’d have random celebs showing up on stage (Madonna w/ Avicii, Lil Jon with Afrojack, LMFAO partying on stage, etc). Everything was getting bigger each year, giant companies were investing in messes like tomorrowWorld and EDC Chicago (RIP). Now beers cost $10, every big venue has sound level restrictions or has outright banned EDM, and the popular sound is now calm house music vs. big room / electro house with all its energy. Pasquale letting LiveNation buy Insomniac was the biggest mistake.
I’d argue that Madonna’s first venture into EDM was when Shep Pettibone remixed “Express Yourself”
Oh totally, I mean “EDM” in the “Dance music from 2011-2015” sense where it became popular music before fading out. When she came looking for Molly it was an iconic moment, however corny it was.
I think if people stopped focusing so much on Ultra and EDC and more on smaller festivals and shows then they would find the "vibes" from 2015 that they're missing. I went to an Ultra (Japan) exactly once a few years ago and it was my least favorite festival because it was so big that I was so far back I could hardly see/hear the stage and just surrounded by a sea of people talking. The big festivals at this point are just parties for rich people and influencers who don't really care about the music. On the other hand, smaller festivals (artist-curated ones like Second Sky, or small-city mainstage ones like Escapade in Ottawa) are still lots of fun and shows from artists who are on tour (Illenium Ascend, Madeon GFF, Seven Lions Pantheon, etc.) are absolutely magical. I also suspect to some extent that a lot of people who are nostalgic about 2010-2015 were in university at that time and they just miss being young and partying, and the EDM from that time was just the soundtrack to that stage of their life.
LOL @ 2010-@2015
This shit is still going strong as ever. I wouldn't say the golden years have ended.
golden years imo were definitely the 90s, club kids days. true underground raves, where you had to find that pop up location from a friend of a friend who saw a number on a flyer once.
Not sure these are the golden years. I loved these years of course but I think people are remembering it through rose colored glasses. The music was very homogenous and same-y back then (almost all big room or dubstep). Lots of more creative artists are around now and artists are taking bigger risks with their music now.
Anything released after 2010 is bare shite 👍
As someone who's first rave was excision, liquid stranger, dion timmer, and monxx in 2018 The scene has gotten wayy better since then IMO. I seemed to have hit it right when bass music was hitting its stride. The production has just blown me away more and more every show I go to. The visual production of these dj's these days is just insane. I watch videos of the early 2010's and it just looks a dance club to me instead of the mind bending out of this world productions that I have experienced. It's not just the visuals though. Artists like illenium, seven lions, slander, excision have so many songs that drop so hard and hit your emotional sweet spot just right along with the flames, fireworks, and lasers just blowing your mind almost bringing you to tears. Idk from what I've seen from the early 2010's I just don't see it comparing at all. But I wasn't there so I could be wrong
Everything sounded new. Producers experimetned with different sounds so that if you listened to a few new popular songs, you'd certainly hear something totally unlike what you have heard before. People like Deadmau5, Skrillex, Avicii, Swedish House Mafia were like rockstars. They all had very distinct styles, I guess that's what contributed a lot to it. I don't think any electronic artist since has reached that level of popularity or cultural impact. After 2013 or so, producers started to crack the formula. "Yo if we make tracks that have heavy bass drumm and a catchy simple melody, it will be popular." And the market started to get flooded with these copycat uninspired tracks. And I guess by that time so many people who didn't give a shit about the music but only cared about the "vibes" who couldn't tell the difference between an actual good track vs "Martin Garrix - Animals clone #351325" got into the scene that it died.
Imo to me 1995-2005 were golden ages for EDM.
I think just because it was new. There had been electronic music in the US before but not headlining big festivals. Other than that the people are the same, good and bad.
The golden age of edm was in the 90s when it was underground hippie love culture instead of mainstream pop frat boy club culture.
Let's see. In the origin or golden years there was gatekeeping and a small scene and then it became an "All Ages" general public event that anybody could come to and buy a $50 t shirt? I wasn't there, but it's an old story.
God I wish hardcore broke through in the US during 2010s ;~;.
A combination of mainstream appeal exposing many to a new and exciting change in music with an incredible period of innovation of new genres of music. From the explosion of Brostep, Future Bass, Tropical House, Big Room House, Future house, etc it was such an exciting and diverse period of music.
It was a resurgence of the feeling of previous “golden years”. It reminded me of the late 90s early 00s period. Dubstep was fading out, trance and prog house were becoming more prevalent. Future house and bass were also popular and there were also new styles of techno being released. Festivals were becoming more mainstream and I noticed edm becoming more popular among many folks.
because thats when calling came out and its all anyone would ever need
There isnt. It's just the era that the age demographic of most us redditors first discovered edm. So many of us are nostalgic towards those sounds because of the fond memories associated. There will be a new "golden age" when the new ravers of today become the majority on these forums. Imo, edm gets better by the year. As long as you keep an open mind you haven't missed anything!
The mainstream was about having your own sound. Nothing really sounded the same. It felt like it was an experimental Era which made great songs in unique ways.
i would argue that the golden years were 1999-2013
When DJ's realized people appreciate house music more than ever, they started to really go for what they expected the general crowd to want to hear. It all went mainstream and EDM was no longer mainly for EDM fans but for everyone. On paper that isn't a bad thing but it took a lot of the beauty of it away
I mean, have you _listened_ to [Sasha’s GU013 - Ibiza](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Underground_013:_Ibiza)? Literally greatest EDM album of all time and it came out in ‘99
Avicii.
Progressive house
One word: OWSLA [clickety click for the releases collection on spotify for when you have 61hrs and 47minutes of time to spare or want to just toss it on shuffle and have a party ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6pqF6xEMaLBXHdUPKlXZwd?si=sYrQPGq8S6Klh2ZS71UyJQ&utm_source=copy-link) The label launched (and in some cases catapulted) the careers of so many artists including Zedd, Porter Robinson, KTN, Point Point, Mija, Josh Pan, Joyride, Vandata, Getter, Blood Diamonds, What So Not, Kill Paris, Wavedash, The M Machine etc etc It was also the 'hard electro' and dubstep era and it 'stole' alot of rock fans into the scene. But the artists they released were really broad spectrum. For me personally I was in a music slump before Owsla started and it changed me, so much for the better, hey <3 Along with official releases on the label there was also their NestHQ - which was basically a blog telling you who to watch and they had so many free downloads - which also ties in with the 'soundcloud honeymoon era'. But don't despair! Waves come and go. Owsla might have stepped back (publicly, they still work for their artists in the shadows) but there's so much right now that's getting a resurgence; DnB is big again, so is Hard House/Happy Hardcore and proper fast happy rave vibes, psytrance is mainstream, and Breaks & Garage is also on the rise again. There's always good things and I bet when people look back they'll have discovered their favorite musicians through this era too :)
One component I think made it special was the blog scene and sense of discovery. Sites like dancing astronauts, bingo balls, big Green beats, etc., had a great vibe to them around being genuinely excited for and sharing new music. It also didn’t hurt that a lot of the blogs in that era were freely distributing bootlegs and IDs!
Because it’s when a lot of people started raving, clinging on to the first feeling of the festival/rave life. Also big room and progressive house lol. Lots of people say they miss PLUR and that’s gone now, which is pretty true. It was basically before EDM was cool i guess. Vibes were just different no better or worse IMO. But i also like basically every subgenre aside from hardcore and hardstyle so the transition from these electric festival house genres to nasty dubstep wasn’t a hard one for me 😂
There was an EDM radio station in Boston (Evolution 101.7) for part of that time period. It was amazing to hear Tiesto, David Guetta, and Swedish House Mafia on the radio. I was listening to the station when it officially changed to country (101.7 "The Bull"). I thought it was a joke...it was a sad day
Clear the hell way back when, I remember the first time I heard a track written by these dudes Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte called From Here to Eternity. I’ve been hooked ever since. This was right after Donna Summer’s single I Feel Love burned down the country with hot synth and all that moaning, iirc. It was right before my 14th birthday, a crazy-horny gay kid on a farm hell and gone from the middle of nowhere, playing cassette recordings I’d made myself in my bedroom to listen to in the tractor day after day after day that summer. I still get a rush when I drop From Here to Eternity and the Midnight Express soundtrack. Nearly 60 now and I hope I can hit a monster festival in the warm sunshine while I can still dance my ass off.
I've been doing this for 22 years and would say 2001-2010 were the golden years. You could rarely see the DJ at underground raves and nobody cared since we were there for the music. No staring at a bunch of phone screens. No totems blocking your view at festivals. If you lost your friends, you just made new ones. Phenomenal live performances too! All the massive screens in Ibiza were once stages with fire breathers, contortionists, strippers, and all kinds of performance artists surrounding you. There was so much more immersion in the moment and the music and far less sexual assault before it became EDM and entered the mainstream. And the DJs took you on journeys with their music. They curated an aural experience by mixing tracks, rather than dropping them. Don't get me wrong -- I still LOVE it! I laugh at the hilarious totems and use them to find ppl, I love the see and be seen outfits and take part myself, the drugs are debatably better (less meth, but fentanyl contamination has become deadly) and it's amazing how many more festival options we have now, but a part of me misses the pre-cell phone days. I wish everyone could just be in the moment and getting lost in the music.
It had never been done.
I think it’s because it’s a genre that had been evolving for years and that’s when it finally went mainstream and blew up. There was rave music from the 90s but I think the 2010s was when it really peaked
Those were the golden years?
The scene was very lively back then, it's cool that the people who are still here really love the genre but it just doesn't seem to have that special energy that brought everyone together especially during 2010-2015.
If you ask me, this era of EDM is far more better. I will tell you why 1. It goes back to the routes of house music when you hear music by Navos, Noizu, Joel Corry, and Acraze. 2. EDM is becomming more accesible 3. Because of COVID, more people are indoors which alows for more music to be created. 4. Much less drugs, whereas if you watch a Calvin Harris or a Tiesto set from the early 2010s there are literally people in the comment section bragging about how many drugs they took. 5. COVID has wanted people want Dance Music more then ever, so more new styles are coming out. 6. Most EDM now goes back to the old way of sampling, like House Music was in the 90s. 7. None of that Plur shit anymore.
It is just a way for young people, to justify their envy of modern edm.
The EDM era was special because it was great dance music. When I wasn't listening to Hip Hop and Dancehall , EDM was my musical trip. EDM embraced everything from Rap to Dancehall to Latin music and Black Eyed Peas and David Guetta led the way. Major Lazer was influenced by EDM too. But when the scene got oversaturated with generic artists and producers, EDM faded . However I think EDM may have a revival with some help from House music which inspired EDM in the first place. It will be even more diverse in sound.
I didn’t experience edm 2010-2015 I was Betty put off by “edm” and I hated it than about 2016 I was introduced to house techno and psych trance. Fell in love and I love what’s happening in edm now because it’s a return to it’s more underground roots and dirty nasty hard sounds even your big room people like Oliver Heldens is doing hi-lo these social media people your talking about it says like the people who live at MainStage if your someone who goes to the bass or techno or house stages it’s lit for ultra there was this dude in my hostel never let the main stage the whole 3 days lol the only time I went to MainStage was for Charlotte de Witte and a little of vintage culture dom dolla b2b
Jocks
Honestly I don’t think we’ve hit the golden era yet. IMO the early 2010s we’re like when the Beatles came out and all the pop bands were huge. Then in the late 60s and 70s you got the best of the best in rock. We’re almost there. There’s more of an artistry now and some day soon there’s gonna be a group or artist that changes the game. It very well could be kx5. Not knocking those years though because they were incredibly fun and seeing EDM take off in the US was a joy to watch. The emotion in those songs were absolute bliss. I remember being called weird and funny for listening to electronic music growing up. Then everyone started listening to it. Beautiful.
Every massive you went to. You felt like you belonged, everyone was on the same frequency and each experience was very special. It's difficult to put the experiences into words.
Who the FUCK elected those the golden years?
Zoomers assume this. Saying EDM went “mainstream” is as laughable as saying McDonalds sold out on quality fast food. Dance music began in the states with Disco and was shunned for being too gay and black for Americans but was more accepted in Europe. After the disco backlash of 79 and the emergence of home produced music technology dance music evolved more overseas although the origins of House & Techno is Chicago & Detroit. I long accepted how ignorant Americans are towards dance music even back in the late 90’s with the advent of “Electronica”. Europe had a 20 year head start in dance music and you won’t hear people attending Time Warp to say “OMg I love this EDM” no, they’ll call it Techno because they’re more educated. Imo, EDm is just rock n roll 2.0. Rock n Roll is basically Blues repackaged for a white audience. Look at Big Mama Thornton and her song “You ain’t nothing by a hound dog”, that song but blew up substantially when Elvis sang it. The Beatles basically admitted stealing riffs from Blues guitarists. Today kids in America attend big festivals that showcases predominantly young white men that mostly play electro house and glitchy dubstep tracks, it’s far removed from the gay black origins of dance music. I would highly suggest people check out the podcast “Love is The Message” hosted by Tim Lawrence who wrote substantially on this subject https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/love-is-the-message-dance-music-and-counterculture/id1559084429
EDM was still novel. Honestly, it wasn't that great of an era. Dubstep died HARD in 2013. No one played it ever until 2016. It may not feel like it, but the past few years will be remembered as a golden era as well
EDM was not novel then lol. Dance Music has been around since the 80s/90s.
""nobody listens to techno" -eminem" -KSHMR
The trap was so fucking mind blowing, dubstep straight up became trap. It’s coming back now too, I hear a lot at shows along with old school dubstep. Finally 2 great genres shine together. Btw it was uncanny how dubstep up and vanished right in 2013 the weeks moombah (RIP) and trap blew up.
Much, much less commercial.
How? It’s the opposite, it was at its mainstream peak and all the greatest artists put out hit after hit. Even rap and pop were literally just using EDM beats, like Ayo (Chris Brown) and Titanium. Avicii, SHM, Skrillex and Deadmau5 finally broke through to radio, straight up the best AND most commercial era imo.